Transparent and Flexible Patch Antenna Using MMF for Conformal WiFi-6E Applications

In this paper, a patch antenna with compact, flexible, and transparent properties is presented to support Wi-Fi 6E (2.4 GHz/ 6 GHz) applications. This antenna design was formulated based on a transparent metal mesh film (MMF), for which the average optical transparency ( OT (cid:2911)(cid:2932) ) is 69% and the sheet resistance ( R (cid:2929) ) is 0.1Ω/sq. The measurement results on frequency bands of 2.4-2.51 GHz and 5.87-7.04 GHz show that the average gain exceeds 5.4 dBi and 6.3 dBi with corresponding radiation efficiency rates as high as 67.8% and 70%. In addition, for the purpose of integration into aesthetic devices for smart home applications, the antenna conformed to foam and a lamp. All research outcomes here indicate that the proposed antenna maintains a directional radiation pattern, as well as transparency and flexibility, making it a potential candidate for transparent Internet of Things (IoT) applications.